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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-30-24 Public Comment - M. Helms - Letter to MayorFrom:Mercedese Helms To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:Re: [EXTERNAL]Letter to Mayor Date:Tuesday, May 28, 2024 1:38:05 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. The Honorable Cunningham, Terry City Commission Division 406-595-3295 121 N Rouse Ave Bozeman, Montana 59715 Dear Terry Cunningham My name is Mercedese Helms and I live in Bozeman Montana. I am 23 years old and am an autistic adult. I respectfully ask that you introduce and support a Proclamation on behalf of Gallatin County which the elected official represents declaring April 21st as AUTISM AFTER 21 DAY. Briefly, the proclamation acknowledges that adults with autism exist in the community and they need to be included fully in our communities. April is National Autism Month. Most often, the face of autism is a child, but autistic children grow up to be autistic adults. Recently updated, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 1 in 54 children have been identified with ASD. Once they turn 21 and no longer have the support of the school system, they lose their friends, something meaningful to do during the day, and sometimes a family member must quit their job to stay home to care for their loved one on the autism spectrum. Adults on the autism spectrum want to give back to their community, but find opportunities can be difficult when you are different. As adults, they face many challenges such as unemployment, lack of affordable housing, stigma and loneliness. Please help make our community more aware and autism-friendly to adults on the autism spectrum by declaring April 21st as AUTISM AFTER 21 DAY. The Madison House Autism Foundation started this national movement in Montgomery County, MD and has provided a template of the Proclamation they used below and a short video to show how this Proclamation can inspire our community to be more autism-friendly. Thank you so much for your continued service and support and consideration of this request. Sincerely, Mercedese Helms 406-595-1771 mercedese.helms@gmail.com Link to Template Proclamation: https://bit.ly/2QZ2ZKo Video of the AUTISM AFTER 21 DAY Proclamation: https://bit.ly/343YkMD On Tue, May 28, 2024 at 1:33 PM Bozeman Public Comment <comments@bozeman.net> wrote: Good afternoon, Our security protocols will not allow us to access a Google Doc, would you be able to copy and paste it into the body of a message or attach a PDF? Thank you, Mike Maas, MPA City of Bozeman | 121 N. Rouse Ave. | Bozeman, MT 59715 406.582.2321 Pronouns: he/him/his Have Questions? Ask BZN From: Mercedese Helms <mercedese.helms@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, May 25, 2024 9:02 AM To: Bozeman Public Comment <comments@BOZEMAN.NET>Subject: [EXTERNAL]Letter to Mayor CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Good Morning, My name is Mercedese and I wrote a letter to you about making April 21st autism after 21 day for autistic adults in Gallatin county. I would really appreciate if you took the time toread my letter and respond. Below is my letter attached to this email. Thank you! Housing letter City of Bozeman emails are subject to the Right to Know provisions of Montana’s Constitution (Art. II, Sect. 9) and may be considered a “public record” pursuant to Title 2, Chpt. 6, Montana Code Annotated. As such, this email, its sender and receiver, and the contents may be available for public disclosure and will be retained pursuant to the City’s record retention policies. Emails that contain confidential information such as information related to individual privacy may be protected from disclosure under law.